Probate is the process in which a deceased person’s assets are gathered, debts are paid, and assets are distributed to beneficiaries. Basically, it is the court-overseen process of wrapping up a person’s affairs. Probate can be a lengthy process. In fact, the time it takes for probate to complete is a major reason many people…

A Minnesota Probate Attorney Verifies That Payments to Compensate a Personal Representative (Executor) Are Taxable You agree to act as the Personal Representative of your sister’s Estate. After a few months you realize that serving as her personal representative takes a lot of time. You have to take time off work to clean out her…

Minnesota Probate Attorney Explains Compensation for a Personal Representative  Your sister asks if you will act the personal representative for her estate if anything happens to her. She passes away and you are now faced with having to navigate the legal minefield of probate. Can you get paid for handling these matters? Yes you can!…

A Minneapolis Probate Attorney Explains the Fees Associated with Handling a Probate In Part I of this series, I explained who is responsible for paying the fees to open up a probate. Now I will turn to the types of expenses involved in a probate. • Court Fees These fees are dictated by Minnesota  law and…

Minnesota Probate Lawyer Explains Who Is Responsible for Paying Probate Fees Recently, a client came to me to help her handle her father’s estate. Dad had been sick for many years and attempted to plan as orderly a transition as possible after his death. He had a will drafted by an attorney and discussed his…

If you have ever considered or participated in estate planning, the term “probate” has likely come up. What is probate and why is it important? Is probate helpful or harmful to your estate planning? Read on to learn more. Simply put, probate is the legal process by which a person’s property is transferred to recipients…

A Minneapolis Probate Lawyer Helps You Understand the Responsibilities of Being a Personal Representative (Executor) for an Estate You remember so clearly how proud you were when you received the telephone call from your Aunt Emma! She gleefully told you that she just had a new will prepared and named you as the Personal Representative….

A Minnesota Estate Planning Lawyer Urges You to Verify Who Is On Your Deed.  Betty calls me because her husband, John, recently passed away and she needs help on what she should do now. We meet and I discover that John had a will leaving everything to Betty. Betty explains that their home is jointly…

A Minnesota Probate Lawyer Explains Some of Your Options Upon Inheriting a Home When you inherit a house, your primary concern should be figuring out how to secure and maintain the home until you decide what to do with it. Can family or neighbors help? Do you need to install a security system? Can someone…

A Minnesota Estate Planning and Probate Lawyer Explains How Assets Are Divided Without a Will If you die without a will, Minnesota Probate Law provides one for you. In determining how your assets will be distributed, the court will look at the laws for intestate (meaning no Will) succession (priority to get stuff) as follows:…